Search Engine Watch

Jump On The Video Distribution Bandwagon

Right now, web publishers of all stripes are busy developing video to entertain or inform visitors. The best video content engages your visitors and encourages them to spend additional time on your site.

In the rush to develop your site, you may not have focused on other traffic opportunities for your professionally-produced video. That rich video content can provide additional revenue streams outside your own domain.

In the old world order, this is called syndication. As an intellectual property holder, you sign contracts which grant licensing rights to others. In return, these licensees pay you based on where the video is shown, audience levels, specific channels, number of plays, and time periods.

In the age of YouTube, your audience is getting used to finding videos there and across the web. Thus it makes sense to solicit help from your site visitors. Encourage them to embed your videos on their own sites, blogs and pages. With ad pre-rolls and sponsorships attached to your own videos, you'll earn incremental revenue from this extended audience.

Fortunately the barriers to hosting video have fallen lately. Since you already host video on your own site, consider extending that support when it's embedded on other sites. Check out StreamingMedia.com, one of the better resources for tips and contacts.

Why go through this effort? Dan Rayburn presents a wake-up call in Broadcasting & Cable, telling publishers they should not “risk their videos' being marketed by other media outlets like bloggers and those who can drive traffic and awareness.” Publishers are advised to control their content distribution, so they can easily adjust their advertising as well.

External distribution isn't reserved for the biggest publishers anymore. It's true that some entertainment companies have been reacting to YouTube in recent weeks and going it alone. However this is an important matter for all video producers who want to maximize traffic and revenue opportunities – wherever their video appears.